Like so many of you, my wife and I are meticulous shoppers. Whether it be online or in-person, we tend to put a lot of research into the things we purchase so that we know we're putting our hard-earned money on the proper products. There are so many options for even basic items like leashes and collars that it's easy to get lost in what we're buying.

We will be writing reviews as we purchase and use these items ourselves. As you do your research for products you're planning to buy, our goal is to add another layer to that research.

When we adopted Markus and started this blog months ago, our plan was to share a glimpse of rescuing a dog from overseas with you. We figured we would be blogging about profound experiences, so without further ado, we bring you the profoundest subject of them all: poop bags.

I know what some of you might be thinking. Bags are bags. Especially bags that are meant for actual crap. What is there to say? Well, we’ve had our hand in trying out different types of poop bags (literally.. cuz you need to stick your hand in the bag.. ..never mind) and there's one brand that stands out above the rest. We tried out bags that were cheaper, ones that we'd find at dollar stores or from stores like Winners, Ross, Marshalls, TJ Maxx and the best one that we've found at any of these locations is the Earth Rated Dog Poop Bags.

At first, we were hesitant to use dog poop bags because of the amount of plastic that it creates. If Markus uses one bag a day on average, that's a lot of garbage that we're creating and we’re conscious about this. Some dogs poop even more in a day and collectively as dog owners, that's a lot of plastic. The question we sought out to answer was - can we avoid creating waste and if so, what's the price?

Let's just be clear on one thing: Even though a lot of these brands (even Earth Rated) market themselves as earth-friendly or green, it doesn't actually mean that they are. Earth Rated, for example, say that their bags are created with additives that break the bag down, but they also say that it’s not fully compostable and some research suggests that these bags don't completely break down in landfills. The only bags that are likely truly biodegradable are ones that say they are made from cornstarch or vegetable oil.

We did a little bit of research to figure out the cost of actually using these biodegradable bags. For our comparison, we went on Amazon to look at what they had available. At the time of this writing, I'm looking at See Spot Go Biodegradable Dog Waste Poop Bags made strictly of cornstarch are selling for $16.99 for 120 bags. The Earth Rated Dog Poop Bags are going for $6.99 for 120 bags. These numbers could fluctuate after the of this writing, but you can immediately see the drastic the cost difference and it is hard to ignore. Compared one to one, we’re paying an extra $10 for 120 bags.

The second bit of research we looked into was the usability of the bags. Years ago, the Vancouver area adopted a strict composting program and thinking we were going to save some money, we bought a 100-pack of compostable paper food waste bags. By the end of it, the bags had started degrading and they were becoming shrivelled and dry faster than we were able to use them. 

We had a similar issue with the biodegradable bags. Perhaps we got a bad batch, but we sometimes found the bags hard to tear along the perforated lines and stuck together so much that they were hard to just open and use. We ended up wasting quite a few bags that we just had to throw out because they couldn't be used. When they worked, they were fine, but you’d hope that they worked more consistently for the price we pay for these. 

In comparison, of the hundreds of Earth Rated bags that we've used, we've only come across one or two that weren't useable (because it wasn't sealed all the way through and our hand could go through the bag). As of this moment, we are using the Earth Rated bags solely for the cost factor. The bags also smell a lot better (we’re using the Lavender-scented) than most of the bags that we’ve used, which goes a long way too. If you get a bigger pack of their bags, you can also get a dispenser included with it. The dispenser comes with Velcro that attaches to the leash so you don’t have to carry the roll around.

At the end of all this, it's clear that the bags that aren't fully biodegradable stand up better overtime and they're considerably cheaper as well. It feels silly to be critical of a poop bag, but this also seems like a common trend for a lot of competitor products where the cost of purchasing a greener item is significantly more expensive and the quality might not be as good. Now that you know the difference in cost and how they hold up, the question and cost of going fully biodegradable or not is for you to decide.

My last recommendation for you is to do the research. The technology is always changing and I hope we are able to discover one in time that's cost-efficient, durable and earth-friendly. Also, crunch the numbers. The prices are always fluctuating and they always have bundles where you get purchase more at one time for a lower cost. For example, the Earth Rated Dog Poop Bags that we like come in boxes of 900 and with 2 dispensers and it still comes out cheaper. Once you know what you like, buy more up front to save some money!

We’re so grateful for your support of The Markus Project. We mostly choose our locations through searching and word of mouth. If you know of a park, trail or location you think we should check out, please share it with us. We’d love to know!